Second Chance at Life and Love
by DracoMalfoy1980
Summary: After Haley's death Hotch begins to lean on Emily for help and they become very close and a romance develops.
1. Chapter 1

A.N. - I do not own any of the Criminal Minds Characters.

As soon as the plane landed, Emily grabbed her bag and rushed to her car. Instead of going back to the office or home she drove to Hotch's apartment.

Once at his door, she hesitated for a moment before knocking softly. A few moments later the door opened and Hotch stood in the doorway.

"Hi, Sorry if it's a little late but we just got back and . . . " She began to explain.

"It's all right. Come on in." He moved out of the way and allowed her into his apartment. He closed and locked the door behind her.

"So how did the case go?"

"All right. We got him. He worked as a valet and then stalked predominate women and broke into their homes and set things up like they were on dates and then he killed them."

"Daddy?" A little voice asked from the hallway.

"Hey buddy." Hotch said and walked over to his son. "Do you remember my friend Miss. Prentiss?"

"Yeah. Hi." Jack said shyly.

"Hi Jack." Emily smiled at him.

"I'm ready for bed Daddy."

"Okay. Excuse me while I put him to bed."

"It's all right. It's late so I should go anyway."

"No. Go ahead and get comfortable on the couch. I won't be to long."

Once Aaron and Jack had disappeared into Jack's room she took a couple steps toward the door but then stopped. After a few moments of internal debate she took off her jacket and walked over to the couch and sat down. About 10 minutes later Aaron came back out and sat down next to her.

"He asleep?"

"Yeah. Out like a light. So why did you stop by if you thought it was so late?"

"We left so soon after Haley's funeral that I just wanted to make sure you and Jack were okay."

"I'm hanging in. I think it will be along time before I'm okay." He sighed. "Jack misses her. He has been spending a lot of time watching video's of her. She shouldn't have died. If I had . . . "

"Don't you finish that sentence. You did what you thought was right and when you knew they were in danger you did everything you could to protect them. Haley's death was not your fault do you understand. Jack needs you and carrying around all this guilt is not good for you."

"I know he needs me but I can't get over it. Strauss came by a couple days ago and offered me early retirement."

Emily was shocked. "Really. What did you say?"

"That I had to think about it. I don't know what to do. Jack needs me now more then ever but I . . . "

"But you love your job too."

"Yeah. I don't know what to do."

She reached over and took his hand in hers. He looked at her in surprise.

"Why don't you talk to Jessica about it? She would probably watch Jack for you while you're away on cases."

"I'm sure she would but I don't really think it would be fair to her. She has her own family and life to deal with."

"All you can do is ask. I'm sure Jack would love to spend time with his cousins."

"Yeah." He smiled slightly and gave her hand a gentle squeeze.

She smiled back and then looked at her watch. "Well it's really late so I should be going."

"Sure."

They stood up and walked to the door. Hotch opened it for her and she took a couple steps out before stopping. She turned and looked at him.

"If you or Jack ever need anything let me know."

"Thank you."

Emily smiled at him and then left. Hotch shut and locked the door before going into his son's room and watching him sleep. He stood in the doorway and thought about what he wanted to do.


	2. Chapter 2

A couple days later Hotch called Emily and asked her to come over for lunch. She knocked on his door at 11:30. He quickly opened the door and let her in.

"Thanks for coming over."

"Sure. I told you I would be there for you if you needed me."

They smiled at each other and walked into the kitchen.

"So where's Jack?" She asked, hanging her coat on the back of a chair.

"At a friend's house for a play date. I hope you don't mind grilled cheese and soup for lunch?"

"No that's fine."

"All right, have a seat and I'll start the sandwiches." He went about getting the bread and cheese.

"Do you need any help?"

"Sure. Why don't you pull down a can of whatever soup you want?"

Emily walked over to the cabinet he indicated and took out a can of chicken noodle then dumped it into a pot and put it on the stove.

"So why did you want me to come over?" She asked as she stirred the soup some.

"Let's finish cooking and then talk as we eat."

Ten minutes later they were settled at the table with a sandwich, a bowl of soup and a cup of water. After a couple bites Emily began the conversation.

"Time to talk yet?"

"I guess. I decided to I am going to return to work on Monday."

"Really. I'm glad. We all miss you."

"I talked to Jessica last night when she came over to cook us dinner. She said she would be more than happy to look after Jack while I'm away."

"I knew she would. She knows how important both Jack and your job are to you."

"Yeah. I love my job but I am still unsure if it is the right thing to do. I felt bad enough always leaving Jack when he had his mother, but now that I am his only parent I don't think it is right to constantly leave him without either parent."

"Hey. You are not leaving him parentless." Emily put her hand over his. "Look at me." When his eyes met hers, she saw a few unshed tears. "You will be with Jack whenever you can. Plus we did just prove we don't need you on every case so you could always stay behind a day or two of a whole case sometimes if you think you need it." That brought a small smile to his lips. "You have always been and will always be Jack's hero. He knows you love him and will always be there for him when he needs you and when you can be."

"Thanks." They smiled at each other and she squeezed his hand.

They quickly finished their lunch and then moved into the living room and sat on the couch.

"How's Jack doing?"

"Okay. He is still watching some of her videos but I think he will do that for a while since he was used to seeing her every day and now he's not going to."

"He's a strong boy. He'll be okay. He has you and Jessica and the team will always be there if you or he ever need anything."

They sat there and talked for a while before Hotch looked at the clock.

"It's 3:00 already. Sorry Emily, I have to go pick up Jack from his friend's house."

She stood up and he followed. "Don't worry about it." She smiled at him and gathered her things. "Thanks for lunch and I'll see you at work tomorrow."

"Thanks for coming over and yeah I'll see you tomorrow at work."

Hotch grabbed his coat, wallet and keys and together they walked out.


	3. Chapter 3

A.N. - Sorry for the delay in posting the chapter. I hope to start updating regularly now. Again I do not own any of the Criminal Minds characters.

Hotch stepped off the elevator into the BAU on his first day back at 8:45 a.m.. He was usually earlier but he wanted to make sure Jack got settled back at school since it was also his first day back.

He saw his team at their desks working on paperwork when he entered the bullpen. Derek looked up and saw him rather quickly. He stood up and smiled.

"Hotch you're back."

Spencer and Emily got up then as well and Dave and JJ came down from their offices.

Hotch smiled at them. "Yeah. I'm back."

Everyone was so happy to see him that they didn't see his slightly nervous body language although Emily saw it.

"All right, let's let him get settled in before you all start bothering him."

When Emily's eyes met his, Hotch gave her a small thank-you smile as he walked up to his office and everyone else returned to their desks.

At 1:30 p.m. Emily noticed Hotch was still at his desk doing paperwork and didn't look like he was going to be stopping for lunch anytime soon. After quickly finishing the report she was working on she went up to his office and knocked on his door.

"Come in."

She opened the door and walked in. "Hey. Are you planning on stopping for lunch anytime soon?"

He looked up from the report he was writing. "What?"

"It's 1:45 so I was wondering if you were going to stop for some lunch anytime soon?"

"Oh. I didn't realize it was getting so late."

"I figured. Come on let's go get some lunch."

"All right." He said, putting down his pen and standing up to follow her. "So where too?"

They quickly decided on a diner a couple blocks away and then headed out.

Arriving at the diner Hotch opened the door for Emily as they entered. They found a table and sat down.

A few minutes later a waitress came up to them. "What can I get for you?"

Once they ordered their food they began talking about anything but work.

"Did Jack get to school all right?"

"Yeah. He was a bit nervous but I think it will be good for him to get back into a routine."

"He's a strong kid. He'll be okay."

Their food arrived then and they ate mostly in silence.

"What do you say to a quick walk before we go back to work?" He asked as they left the diner.

"Sure. So how was your first day back?"

"Not too bad. We'll have to see more on my first case back." He looked down at. "I'm going to head back and get my stuff so I can go pick up Jack from school."

"I'm sure he'll love that." Emily said, smiling at him.

As Jack walked out of school, he was surprised but glad to see his dad waiting to pick him up. He ran to Hotch as soon as he spotted him.

"Daddy."

"Hey Buddy." Hotch smiled as Jack flew into his arms. "How was your day?"

"Okay. It was nice seeing my friends."

"What did you do?" Hotch asked, as he got Jack settled into the car.

"I drew some pictures and played with the blocks with Jason and Brendan."

"That's great. Do you have any of the pictures you drew so I can see them?" Hotch asked as they drove home.

"Yeah." Jack looked out the window. "Can we go get some ice cream Daddy?"

"Sure Buddy."

A few moments later they pulled into the ice cream shop. Once they ordered they sat down at a table to eat it.

Hotch kept looking at Jack since the little boy was so quiet.

"Are you really okay Jack?"

Jack looked up at him. "Yeah. I just miss Mommy that's all."

"Okay. I just want to make sure and I want you to tell me if anything is bothering you okay?"

"Okay Daddy."

They finished their ice cream and then went home.


End file.
